Attorney General nominee Merrick Garland, famed for his even temperament, had a heated exchange with Sen. Mike Lee regarding the nomination of Kristen Clarke to lead the Justice Department’s civil rights division.

“Would an individual’s past statements … as an adult, declaring that one racial group is superior to another, would statements like that be relevant to an evaluation of whether such a person should be put in charge of running the Department of Justice’s civil rights division?” Lee asked Garland during his confirmation hearing.